With President Aquino on a
state visit to Washington this week, the issue regarding the return of the Balangiga bells has once
again resurfaced. In 1901, three bells were taken from the church belfry in
Balangiga, a town in Eastern Samar by responding American troops after 48 of
their soldiers were killed by the townspeople. The bells’ tolling was used
by the Filipinos to signal the surprise attack on the 75-man US garrison in
the town.

Two of those bells are on
permanent display in Trophy Park on F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside
Cheyenne, Wyoming. The third bell is in South Korea where the 9th US
Infantry Regiment is stationed.

As Filipino-Americans we
are naturally torn on this issue. The Filipino in us naturally would like
to get back what we believe is ours, but the American in us is saying “hey wait a
minute; those bells belong to America now. They’re the spoils of battle—'war
booty' if you will.” The bells are now memorials to honor the 48 soldiers from Company
C who were killed in battle the morning of September 28,
1901.

And in all honesty, we
believe there are more compelling reasons for the bells to stay where they
are, then to return them to the Philippines. First and foremost, Americans have developed a greater attachment to the bells over the past
hundred years than have Filipinos. For Americans, the bells are now part of
their military history. They hold a place of honor for their men and women in uniform.

For Filipinos, that level
of importance and reverence is lacking. If ever the bells are returned,
the plan is to put them back on the church belfry from whence they were
taken. They hold little significance to most Filipinos, they’re just a set of old church bells. If
the Americans had not taken them, they could in all likelihood have melted
down or sold as scrap metal a long time ago—just like many of the old church
bells around the country.

Here’s something that we
Filipinos might not be aware of: During New York’s Fleet Week celebration
last month,
many New Yorkers got the chance to see the grandest of America's tall ships;
the Eagle—a three-masted barque which was docked on Pier 90 on 42nd Street
and open to the public. The Eagle serves as an international goodwill
ambassador for the United States and is near and dear to the hearts of many
Americans.

The Eagle however, was not
built in the United States. It was built in Nazi Germany! Adolf Hitler was
even present
during her christening in 1936. But after Germany lost WWII, America took
the ship and renamed her the Eagle. The ship is one of the “spoils” of that
war, and “to the victor go the spoils.”

Filipinos need to wake up
and face reality. Be thankful that it was only three bells that were taken
and not a three-masted tall ship. Forget the bells, they’re really no longer
ours. It is time to move on. Follow Germany's lead and look instead to
bigger and better things.

If we were negotiating this
issue for the Philippines, we’d tell the U.S. “keep the bells!” They hold
more value for Americans than they do for Filipinos. In their place,
hmm…maybe another Coast Guard Cutter would be nice—not the Eagle of course.
Published 6/9/2012